The Inquisitor, the King and the Hero
by OfficerDonNZ
Summary: A little what if with the soon to be Inquisitor, King Alistair, the Hero of Ferelden and Grand Enchanter Fiona. Made some updates. Am working on chapter 2.


_A/N 1: After playing DA:I for a while I've had some ideas knocking about in my head that just have to get out. So here is a 'what if' story. What if you could gain both the mages and the Templars and the Warden from DA:O was also present not just a passing reference and a war table mission? What changes would that mean?_

_A/N 2: And for those of you wondering about my NWN fics, no I haven't forgotten about them. I just haven't been able to get inspired to continue with them sadly. That might change if I can get this out and get back into writing._

* * *

"Redcliffe, this is where I told you who my father really was." King Alistair Therin said with a sigh as he and his wife passed through the shattered gates of the town.

"Yes, husband mine." Mira Cousland Therin replied with a sad smile. "Ten years ago now. It seems like another life, doesn't it?"

Alistair merely nodded. "How did it come to this, with the breach in the sky?" he asked.

It was Mira's turn to sigh. "I don't know, but when both Anders and Justice vanished from Amaranthine at almost the same time, that had me concerned. I knew they had been talking about spirits joining with a living host. I hoped Anders wasn't so stupid, turns out I gave him too much credit. He was that stupid," the Queen of Ferelden said, shaking her head sadly.

Alistair shot his wife a look. "What, like demon possession?" he asked, shocked.

Mira shook her head. "No, not really. Justice and Anders theorized that if a willing living host and a willing spirit merged, things would be less traumatic for both." The noble woman let out a snort of disgust. "Turns out even a spirit can be corrupted and become a demon. At the end, I don't think there was anything left of Anders or Justice." She sighed. "If there was, they were nothing like the Anders and Justice I knew."

Mira still had vivid memories of a half-destroyed Kirkwall, the city's guards trying to keep order as both mages and Templars ran amuck unchecked. Leliana's message about seeing her missing Warden, Anders, in Kirkwall had the Warden-Commander of Ferelden extremely concerned.

By the time Mira had been able to get to the city state, she was just in time to see the tragic end to a sad state of affairs. From Kirkwall's docks she'd seen the Chantry explode and the madness that was its aftermath. As she and the small contingent of Fereldan troops that Alistair had insisted go with her made their way through the city, helping where they could, they came across an even more tragic sight. Her old friend Anders, if indeed there was anything left to call Anders, admitting he had blown up the Chantry with the Revered Mother inside, not to mention the other clerics and staff. Then she saw a white haired female mage swiftly execute him for starting a war no one wanted.

Mira's thoughts on the past were interrupted as they entered the Great Hall of Redcliffe Castle. They had the unpleasant task of evicting the rebel mages. Not a task neither of them liked, but in light of the news that had reached Denerim they really didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

"Well I'm glad that's over with." Dorian said as the royal bodyguard marched into the Great Hall. "Or not."

"Grand Enchanter, imagine how surprised I was to learn that you had given Redcliffe Castle away to a Tevinter Magister," Alistair said, surprisingly calm.

"I'm glad to see you haven't lost your ability for understatement, husband mine," Mira remarked playfully. There was no need to make this anymore ugly than it already was.

The king smiled slightly. "I do try, my love."

Grand Enchanter Fiona was in a word shocked. Here were the King and Queen of Ferelden, both of them Grey Wardens, technically at least. What surprised the mage the most was that Queen was in full armour.

"King Alistair, Queen Mira..." was all Fiona could manage.

"Especially as I'm fairly sure that Redcliffe still belongs to Arl Teagan," Alistair went on.

"Your majesties, we never intended..." the Grand Enchanter began.

The king raised a hand. "We know what you intended. We wanted to help you." He sighed. "But you've made it impossible. You and your followers are no long welcome in Ferelden," Alistair said sadly.

Fiona blinked several times. "But we have hundreds who need protection. Where will we go?" the Grand Enchanter asked.

Kari Trevelyan had been watching and now seemed a good a time as any to speak up. "I'd like to point out that the Inquisition had come here for mages to help close the breach," said the noble born mage.

Fiona looked at the Inquisition mage. "And what are the terms of this arrangement?" she asked, fearing the worst and hoping for the best.

"Hopefully better than what Alexius gave you," Dorian said as he walked Kari's side. "The Inquisition is better than that, yes?"

Fiona sighed. "It seems we have little choice but to accept whatever you offer."

"We would be honoured to have you fight as allies at the Inquisition's side," Kari said, knowing full well that some of her companions wouldn't like her choice. The Seeker, Cassandra, and that stuck up bitch Viviane came to mind. Kari could understand Cassandra's concerns and she didn't give a fuck what Viviane thought.

"A generous offer, but will the rest of the Inquisition honour it?" Fiona asked, greatly surprised.

"The breach threatens all of Thedas. We cannot afford to be divided now," Kari replied. "We can't fight it without you. Any chance of success requires your full support."

Alistair cleared his throat. "I'd take that offer if I were you. One way or another, you are leaving our kingdom."

Fiona hung her head for a moment. "We accept, it would be madness not to," she said at last. "I will gather my people and ready them for the journey to Haven. The breach will be closed. You will not regret giving us this chance."

What happened next surprised everyone even Alistair "Grand Enchanter, may I have a word in private?" Mira said as she walked to a quiet corner of the Great Hall, her dragon bone chainmail armour hardly making a sound.

"Of course your majesty," Fiona replied as she followed the noble woman. "What is this about, if I may ask?"

Mira leaned back against the stone wall. "You were a Warden, were you not?" the queen inquired.

Fiona's mouth fell open. "Yes... but how did you know?" It was something she didn't advertise, after all.

"I found some documents of Warden-Commander Duncan that somehow were missed by Loghain's lap dogs." Mira spat the betrayers name with venom even after all these years. "They mentioned you..." the queen glanced in the king's direction briefly, "... and your connection to Alistair."

The elven woman's eyes grew in surprise. "He doesn't know, does he?" Fiona said at last. "If it were known, I doubt he would have been made king."

"Maybe, but at the time things were pretty bad, and we needed unity," Mira replied. "If Arl Eamon knew he never said a word. I love Alistair with all my heart, so I don't care his mother is an elf." The queen smiled. "Explains why Alistair's so fascinated by magic and things of that nature."

Fiona also smiled for it was clear to her, her son was very much loved. "He's happy then?" she asked.

Mira nodded. "As happy as I can make him. Still no heir and not for the lack of trying." The queen smiled sadly at the old joke. She hoped she could find a cure for the taint. Fiona was proof such a thing was possible even if Mira didn't know how it had happened. Duncan's documents gave no clue in that regard.

The only reason Mira was back was when she heard about the explosion at the conclave and the fade breach. Add to that the sudden disappearance of the Fereldan and Orlesian Wardens and it had the noble woman very worried. There had been vague mention of something about a darkspawn prison in Duncan's documents or what was left of them. But why a prison for darkspawn, of all things? The bad feeling in Mira's gut had gotten a whole lot worse. Something just didn't seem right. So she'd returned and just in time to come to Redcliffe.

Mira drew out of one of the pouches on her belt a sealed set of documents that bore both the royal seal and that of House Cousland. "Fiona, I want you to take these to the Inquisition and give them to no one else but Sister Leliana. She'll know who sent them. Some information I've uncovered on my travels that my old friend may well find of use."

"I will do as you ask, your majesty," the Grand Enchanter replied before she turned and walked away to gather the mages.

* * *

"I wonder what that's about," Alistair mused, watching his wife walk away to have a private conversation with the Grand Enchanter.

"Does your wife do this sort of thing a lot, your majesty?" Kari asked, curious.

The king smiled slightly. "Yes, yes she does. Mira is very much her own woman. Sometimes I wonder if it's her running the kingdom and not me." He chuckled for sometimes it did seem as if Mira was the one running things. Not that he really minded, as he'd told her more than once he'd make a really bad king.

That hadn't stopped Mira pulling her now famous or infamous stunt at the Landsmeet ten years ago and totally blindsiding Queen Anora, not to mention everyone else in the Landsmeet chamber. When Arl Eamon had asked Mira to settle the argument as to who would rule Ferelden, Anora had been smiling, assuming that she would still be queen.

Mira had stepped forward and without so much as batting an eye said that Alistair would be king and that she, Mira Cousland, would rule by his side as queen. The look on Anora's face had been worth the shock Alistair himself had felt.

_Speaking of kingly duties_, Alistair thought to himself. "I hear that the Templars, or what's left of them, have joined the inquisition. Therinfall Redoubt is quite the mess too from what I've been told."

Kari blinked. "You know about that already, your majesty?" the mage asked, truly surprised.

Alistair nodded, looking very serious "Yes, when that many Orlesian nobles wanted to trek across half of my kingdom to get to a long abandoned fort, I wanted to know why. I had my own agents there to make sure they weren't up to anything they shouldn't be. That, and the ex-Templar in me wanted to know what was going on."

"You were a Templar, your majesty?" Dorian asked, surprised by this. It was the last thing the mage from Tevinter had expected.

Alistair grinned. "Well, technically I never became a Templar as I never took my final vows. The whole Grey Warden thing put paid to that. Still, being able to suppress darkspawn mages when we encountered them saved our lives more than once during the blight."

Kari looked stunned. "Hang on, if you never took your final vows and never took lyrium, how can you use a Templar's abilities, your majesty?"

The king looked sombre. "Turns out a Templar doesn't need lyrium to use his or her abilities. The lyrium just makes the effects stronger, though I've often wondered if it even does that." He gave both mages a knowing look. "I'm sure you can see the implications."

Kari found herself trying to suppress a shiver and failing badly, and even Dorian looked shocked. "I can," the young woman said softly. "The Chantry knowingly gave its Templars an additive substance." Her face showed how disgusted she was with that.

"And mages," Alistair added. "Think about it. Who controls the lyrium trade with the dwarfs? The Chantry. You mages don't really _need_ lyrium to cast magic, but I know from experience during the Blight having lyrium potions for the mages that we had with us was a good thing, as they could cast for longer when we were in prolonged battles."

"That's true," Dorian said. "And lyrium is often used in some of the more complex spells and rituals." The mage from Tevinter wasn't liking the implications any more than his southern counterpart was.

"Well, it's not as if the world wasn't messed up enough already," Kari said, letting out a sigh. "Maker's breath, this is going to heat things up back at Haven," she muttered.

Fiona then arrived, telling them she and the other rebel mages were ready to leave Redcliffe for Haven.

* * *

"What was that all about?" Alistair asked as he walked over to where his wife was still leaning against the wall. "Looked pretty important."

Mira shrugged. "Just some unfinished Warden business, nothing to worry about."

"Right..." the king replied, not fully believing his wife.

"Alistair, do you ever wonder about your mother?" the queen asked.

"Sometimes, why? What's this about?" Alistair asked, getting more suspicious.

"What would you do if I told you that you have just told off your mother and sent her away without even knowing it?" the queen replied.

Alistair's eyes blinked and his mouth opened and closed as his brain tried to process the information. "Are you trying to tell me the Grand Enchanter is my mother?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.

Mira just nodded.

"How's that even possible?" the king said, trying to come to terms with the idea that his mother was an elf and a mage to boot.

Mira did her best not to burst out laughing. "I think you know, husband mine. We try often enough, after all." Alistair at least had the decency to blush. "Your father did have a bit of a reputation, did he not? I'll explain what I know on the way back to Denerim, then I'm off again, I'm afraid."

Alistair put on his best sad face. "Do you have to? It's been hell without you around."

Mira smirked. "Even if you call me the old ball and chain when I'm not there, hmmm?"

"Teagan told you, didn't he," the king pouted.

"Maybe, or it could have been a certain Antivan Crow," Mira said playfully. "You know I have to leave if we want to find a cure for the taint in our blood. We're not going to get that big family you want any other way, sadly."

"I suppose you're right. Just wish you didn't have to go again so soon," Alistair replied, looking a bit lost.

"Well, I'm sure we can find a nice quiet spot for a few hours so you can have your wicked way with me, my king." Mira's eyes showed just what she had in mind.

"Maker's breath, you're going to be the death of me," Alistair half-heartily complained.

"You wouldn't want it any other way and you know it," the queen said.

* * *

"What did the queen want, Grand Enchanter?" Kari asked.

"To give me closure, or as much as I'm liable to get under the current circumstance," Fiona replied. "Also, she has asked me to deliver some documents to Sister Leliana."

Kari raised an eyebrow. "I see." She recalled Leliana saying she knew the Hero of Ferelden quite well. "Then let us be off to Haven, the breach won't fix itself," the noble mage said. "We have things to discuss on the way, Grand Enchanter."


End file.
